Berial

Berial is a boss encountered in Devil May Cry 4. He is a massive leonid centaur demon hailing from a particularly cruel and barbaric circle of the Demon World known as the Fire Hell. He was also Mundus' lone successor as the ruler of the Underworld after the latter's defeat by Dante. The jets of flame that spout from his body protect him from the malicious attacks of others, although they are not inexhaustible, and leave him dangerously exposed when dispelled. Nero fights Berial in Mission 2: La Porte de l'Enfer, and Dante faces him in Mission 16: Inferno. Berial is also fought at level 20 of the Bloody Palace.

Physical Appearance
Berial has the lower body of a large bull, the legs and feet of a lizard or dragon, the upper body of a human, and a feline-like face, topped with vicious horns, and he towers above the single-story houses in the battlefield. His body is black, like cooled lava, with large, wing-like jets of flame sprouting from his humanoid shoulders and more flames cascading off his tail. When his flames are extinguished, these fires disappear and the creases in Berial's body take on more of a smouldering orange glow. In addition to his claws, Berial fights with a massive flaming sword, similar in appearance to a Zweihander, but his great size and strength allows him to wield it in a single paw. His attacks are slow, but powerful and with great reach; two aspects which no doubt helped him to conquer the Fire Hell. Out of all the demons of the Demon World, Berial is one of the few to have had an honor code.

Story
Berial attacks Nero in the Ferrum Hills, a deserted mining camp. He claims to have visited the human world two-thousand years ago, and never met any human like Nero except for "him", possibly indicating The Dark Knight Sparda. After his defeat, he retreats from Nero to the demonic realm, but later returns to the Human World after Agnus opens the True Hellgate.

The next time he is seen, he is looking at the distant Savior in the sky and commenting on Sanctus's ridiculous arrogance. He doesn't notice Dante sitting on his tail until the Devil Hunter voices his agreement. After Berial shakes him off, he easily recognizes Dante as the infamous Son of Sparda, then claims that he will avenge his demonic compatriots slain by Dante. Though he is bested in battle, he refuses to retreat again, and launches a kamikaze attack which Dante repels. After Berial is defeated, Dante takes the Lucifer Devil Arm and destroys the Hell Gate from which Berial emerged.

Devil Trigger (DMD)
Berial can enter his Devil Trigger state in Dante Must Die when his life bar is less than 3 segments. While in his Devil Trigger state, Berial has his flames growing larger and turning purple-blue, making them harder to remove. In this state, Berial earns an increased defense, and durability. He also attacks faster and more ferocious. Some of his moves also get stronger in this state, with longer Bull Rush (known as Kamikazee) ability and more Fire Geysers.

Powers & Abilities
Berial is a higher-level demon and is considered a master when it comes to fire. With his large lion-like body, he is granted even stronger attacks and higher endurance than smaller fire demons. He also wields a large sword that creates an explosion upon impact.

Berial can also generate a massive fire explosion when his protection is down, restoring all his fire. Also, he himself can turn into flames and fly with great speed, as seen in his escape to his Hell Gate.

Development
The Devil May Cry 4 artbook, "Devil's Material Collection", displays several concept sketches of Berial, one of which depicts him as a bipedal creature and another one as a creature comprised of Hellfire, inhabiting an armor, and show that he can detach and launch his head in an attack, similar to the Basilisk.

Background
Belial is the name from which "Berial" likely was drawn. The term "Belial" is used in the Torah of the Hebrew Bible to denote idolaters; in the New Testament, to refer to a demon, most probably Satan; and in the apocryphal text, The Ascension of Isaiah, to refer to an angel of lawlessness and "ruler of this world." The Dead Sea Scrolls from the caves at Qumran and War Scroll, moreover, contrast Belial with God, and allude to him as quite analogous to Satan. Finally, the epic poet John Milton further describes Belial as a paragon of wickedness. Belial is often associated with rebellion, as the Fragments suggest that anyone who is ruled by the spirits of Belial and speaks of rebellion should be condemned as a necromancer or wizard.

Trivia

 * Berial is voiced by Larry Leong.
 * Berial shares some similarities with Cerberus. At one point Berial makes a reference to Cerberus from Devil May Cry 3 by asking Nero "You are not human, are you?", which is similar to a line Cerberus delivers to Dante. Both Berial and Cerberus are the first bosses of their respective games, and both of them died with honor - Cerberus gives his soul to Dante after he realizes the latter is too powerful for him, while Berial decides that he cannot defeat Dante without dying himself. They also complement one another in their contrasts: their colors have the recurring theme of red and blue; their elements are the oft-paired opposites of fire and ice; and Cerberus is canine in design while Berial is leonine.
 * Berial's physical appearance (notably the upper body) resembles that of Griever and Ultima Weapon from Final Fantasy VIII.
 * Berial is the only demon who Dante offers to spare on the condition he returns to his home in the fire hell. This obviously shows some areas of respect from Dante as other bosses like Dagon (and brothers) and Echidna he executes instantly.
 * Berial has many similarities with the Pit lord Mannaroth from Warcraft 3.